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Thursday, July 05, 2012

i'm not really very good with kids

the participants in the photo outing.

i'm not really that good with kids - other people's kids, that is. so it's a little ironic that twice this week, i've intentionally put myself in the position of leading a group of kids - once for a photo fun outing at my local library and today i gave showmanship lessons at a riding camp at our riding club. oh, and i might add that i had to do both in a language not my own. the showmanship was pretty hard because i realized i didn't know any of the terminology in danish, but luckily, the group was a bit older and so they could figure out what i meant from the english i mixed in.

i asked them to photograph sculpture from a different angle.

i actually volunteered for both activities, so i can't even say i was forced. but i do wonder a little bit what made me do it. definitely pushing myself out of my comfort zone. perhaps a desire to share something i think is fun - both photography and working with a horse in a new way? and of course, sabin - who was part of both "classes." it was a little weird that i chose showmanship because i'm not sure i was ever a really big fan of it back in the day, but i ended up consistently good at it and i found it fun to show it to a group of kids who know their horses well, but had never tried it. they definitely found it challenging.

getting down on the ground and making trash look pretty.

in both instances, i am overawed by the ability of children to be open and soak in what's presented to them. for the photo class, i stressed that i wanted them to look at things from a different angle - literally. and they did. they laid on the ground, they photographed the clouds, they took photos underneath cars and made detritus left on the street look artistic by getting close and personal with it. they were inspired and so was i. and as for the showmanship, they got to know and work with their horses in a new way - one which i think both parties appreciated. but they couldn't believe that you have to be able to set up your horse within 4 seconds. that takes a lot of work.

the assignment was to photograph happiness - this is what one of them came up with. isn't it clever?

ultimately, i come away from both experiences a little bit better person - more patient and more in awe of the capacity of children to take in new things in an open manner. and much more appreciative of the teachers out there who do it every day. thank you for that, any teachers who might be reading this.

* all photos in this post were taken by the children who attended the course at the library.

I always say the rules are: my children are the most wonderful people in the whole world, my friend’s children and interesting and the rest are just brats to be avoided! (unless you find out the rest can be pretty amazing too, then you can start bending the rules...a little...on occasion)